This Homemade Candy Vending Machine Accepts Bitcoin

Whether you love it or hate it, there is no denying the huge impact Bitcoin has had on the tech industry. From raising questions about our rights to privacy, to enticing every .com under the sun into bragging about their blockchains, Bitcoin has certainly been disruptive (ugh). But, the question of whether or not it’s practical for everyday use has been holding it back from being truly successful. To prove that it can be, Elkrem has built a candy vending machine and a Bitcoin light client to accept payments.

The physical vending machine has four candy options to choose from. It’s constructed from laser-cut plywood, but the dispensing mechanisms are very similar to what you’d find in any other vending machine. It’s controlled with an Arduino Mega, and allows patrons to purchase candy quickly with their Bitcoin. The machine itself is great, but the real development here is Elkrem’s Bitcoin light client called Koyn.

Bitcoin has been impractical for small, quick transactions because the blockchain-verified ledger is slow to update, and individual transaction fees are relatively high. The Koyn client runs on the Arduino, and only downloads the ledger headers instead of the full transaction history. That lets it verify a payment more quickly than traditional clients. Right now, it still only updates every 10 minutes or so, and has the full transaction fees associated with any Bitcoin payment. But, that could be vastly improved soon with the upcoming Bitcoin Lightning Network that is designed for scenarios like this.